After going to Los Angeles for Sam's funeral, we rented a VW Westphalia camper van and took the three kids up to the gold country. The heat was intense, but most days we were in or on the water. We took a two-day river rafting trip on the south fork of the American River. Last year, we rafted in the same place, but only for a day. It turned out to be very, very lucky that we chose the two-day trip, because the first day was so strange. The rafting on this river depends on the amount of water that is released from the dam that morning.

We got a late start (due to some late arrivals - not us!) and the amount of water that was released was extremely small. So by the time we got in the water and underway, the water level had started to drop. They said it was about 4 feet below normal by mid-day. This means that what should have been class-3 rapids was a slow trek between boulders, and the guides had to keep hopping out of the boats to pull us off rocks when we got stuck. It took hours to go just a few miles. We didn't stop for lunch until 2pm, and even then we were miles above the place where they normally stop. We had to eat sandwiches half in the water along the shore, because the rafting companies are only allowed to go ashore in certain locations. It was a long, hot afternoon. We finally got to a place near a road, where the guide could hitch back and get the bus to take us back to camp.



The second day, there was plenty of water and fun rapids to ride. The kids worked just as hard as we did, paddling furiously when we had to, and jumping in to swim when we could. Jeremy, Barb & I jumped in for the "Swimmers' Rapid", which our guide Steve described as an easy ride. Immediately, the icy water and huge waves made me panic, and seeing Jeremy bobbing nearby, screaming "HELP! I can't breathe! I don't like this! I changed my mind!", made me even more scared! I grabbed him and tried to hold on as we were carried downstream. After what seemed like a lifetime, we were able to grab the boat and get pulled in. We re-named that rapid the "Changed My Mind Rapid".

I loved staying in the tent and using the camper van. It reminded me of how much I enjoy camping, as long as I can sleep on a comfortable air bed. We ended the week at WaterWorld and Six Flags. Shooting the water slides in tubes was a lot of fun, but I really don't enjoy the crowds at those kind of places. I took one wild plunge on the "Honolulu Halfpipe" ride at WaterWorld - it felt like one of those things that I would do only once in my life. It was a HUGE U-shaped platform, and I climbed up to the top of one half of the U, sat on a tube, and disappeared over the edge. You go straight down, and then up the other side, and back & forth, a bunch of times. When Barb saw me go over the edge, she lost it and had to climb down again.

Honolulu Halfpipe is a four-story, mammoth wave that begins with a steep entry onto the nearly vertical surface, providing riders with the thrill of "free falling," as they barrel down from the apex of this enormous wave at heart pounding speeds. During the drop, fearless fun-seekers will experience the force of "zero gravity," zooming back and forth on more than a thousand-gallons of swirling water as they surf their way through the 80-foot valley into a calm catch pool below.

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